THE WHALE. 



251 



sent. From the skeletons of some that have 

 been dug up at different times, it is evident 

 that there must have been terrestrial animals 

 twice as large as the elephant ; but creatures 

 of such an immense bulk required a proper- 

 tionable extent of ground for subsistence, and, 

 by being rivals with men for large territory, 

 they must have been destroyed in the contest. 



But it is not only upon land that man has 

 exerted his power of destroying the larger 

 tribes of animated nature, he has extended his 

 efforts even into the midst of the ocean, and 

 has cut off numbers of those enormous animals, 

 that had perhaps existed for ages. We now 

 no longer hear of whales two hundred, and 

 two hundred and fifty feet long, which we are 

 certain were often seen about two centuries 

 ago. They have all been destroyed by the 

 skill of mankind, and the species is now 

 dwindled into a race of diminutive animals, 

 from thirty to about eighty feet long. 



The northern seas were once the region to 

 which the greatest of these animals resorted ; 

 but so great has been the slaughter of whales 

 for more than two ages, that they begin to 

 grow thinner every day ; and those that are 

 now found there, seem, from their size, not to 

 come to their full dimensions. The greatest 

 whales resort to places where they have the 

 least disturbance ; to those seas that are on the 

 opposite side of the globe, near the south pole. 

 In that part of the world there are still to be 

 seen whales that are above a hundred and 

 sixty feet long ; and perhaps even longer might 

 be found in those latitudes near the south 

 pole, to which we have not as yet ventured. 



Taking the whale, however, at the ordinary 

 size of eighty feet long and twenty feet high, 

 what an enormous animated mass must it ap- 

 pear to the spectator! With what amaze- 

 ment must it strike him, to behold so great a 

 creature gamboling in the deep, with the ease 

 and agility of the smallest animal, and mak- 

 ing its way with incredible swiftness! This 

 is a sight which is very common to those who 

 frequent the northern or southern ocean. Yet 

 though this be wonderful, perhaps still greater 

 wonders are concealed in the deep, which we 

 have not had opportunities of exploring. 

 These large animals are obliged to show them- 

 selves in order to take breath ; but who knows 

 the size of those that are fitted to remain for 

 ever under water, and that have been increas- 

 ing in magnitude for centuries ! To believe 

 all that has been said of the Sea-Serpent, or 

 Ihe Kraken, would be credulity ; to reject 

 the possibility of their existence, would be 

 presumption. 



The Whale is the largest animal of which 

 we have any certain information ; and the 

 various purposes to which, when taken, its 

 different parts are converted, have brought us 



tolerably acquainted with its history. Of the 

 whale, properly so called, there are no less 

 than seven different kinds ; all distinguished 

 from each other by their external figure, or 

 internal conformation. The Great Greenland 

 Whale, without a back- fin, and black on the 

 back ; the Iceland Whale, without a back- 

 fin, and whitish on the back ; the New-Eng- 

 land Whale, with a hump on the back ; the 

 Whale with six humps on the back ; the Fin- 

 fish, with a fin on the back near the tail ; the 

 Pike-headed Whale, and the Round-lipped 

 Whale. All these differ from each other in 

 figure, as their names obviously imply. They 

 differ also somewhat in theirjnanner of living; 

 the fin-fish having a larger swallow than the 

 rest, being more active, slender, and fierce, 

 and living chiefly upon herrings. However, 

 there are none of them very voracious ; and, 

 if compared to the cachalot, that enormous 

 tyrant of the deep, they appear harmless and 

 gentle. The history of the rest, therefore, 

 may be comprised under that of the Great 

 Common Greenland Whale, with which we 

 are best acquainted. 



The Great Greenland Whale (see Plate 

 XIV. fig. 23.) is the fish, for taking which 

 there are such preparations made in differ- 

 ent parts of Europe. It is a large heavy 

 animal, arid the head alone makes a third 

 of its bulk. It is usually found from sixty 

 to seventy feet long. The fins on each 

 side are from five to eight feet, composed of 

 bones and muscles, and sufficiently strong to 

 give the great mass of body which they move, 

 speed and activity. The tail, which lies flat 

 on the water, is about twenty-four feet broad ; 

 and, when the fish lies on one side, its blows 

 are tremendous. The skin is smooth and 

 black, and, in some places, marbled with 

 white and yellow ; which, running over the 

 surface, has a very beautiful effect. This 

 marbling is particularly observable in the fins 

 arid the tail. In the figures which are thus 

 drawn by nature, fancy often forms the pictures 

 of trees, landscapes, and houses. In the tail 

 of one that was thus marbled, Ray tells us, 

 that the number 122 was figured very evenly 

 and exact, as if done with a pencil. 



The whale makes use only of the tail to 

 advance itself forward in the water. This 

 serves as a great oar to push its mass along ; 

 and it is surprising to see with what force and 

 celerity its enormous bulk cuts through the 

 ocean. The fins are only made use of for turn 

 ing in the water, and giving a direction to 

 the velocity impressed by the tail. The fe- 

 male also makes use of them when pursued, 

 to bear off her young, clapping them on her 

 back, and supporting them by the fins on each 

 side from falling. 



The outward or scarf skin of the whale is no 



